In this verse-by-verse teaching through Matthew 7:7–11, Jesus’ familiar words—ask, seek, knock—are placed back into their proper context within the Sermon on the Mount.

Rather than a blanket promise that God will give us whatever we want, this passage answers a deeper question that has been building throughout the sermon:
How are we supposed to live up to such a high standard?
How do broken, insufficient people enter the Kingdom—and then actually live as Kingdom citizens?

Jesus’ answer is not self-effort, spiritual performance, or “name it and claim it” faith. It’s relationship.
Ask. Seek. Knock.

This teaching explores:

• Why this passage is not an abrupt shift, but a natural response to everything Jesus has already said

• How ask, seek, knock is about entering and living in the Kingdom—not demanding outcomes

• What it means to trust God as a good Father who gives what we need, not what would harm us

• Why this passage cannot be used to support Word-of-Faith or prosperity theology

• How sufficiency, wisdom, and obedience flow from dependence on the Father—not perfection

This is a promise of access, not entitlement.
A call to trust, not to manipulate God.
And a reminder that the grace to walk in truth begins with knowing who your Father is.

In a recent Q&A episode, I carefully dismantled someone else’s presuppositions—then realized I had missed one of my own.

This episode isn’t about settling debates over demons or Genesis 6. It’s about how easily we overlook our assumptions, even when we’re trying to handle Scripture carefully. We’ll talk about confidence, humility, essential doctrines, and why elevating secondary issues to primary ones fractures unity in the body of Christ.

Confidence is good.
But only humility keeps it from becoming Plankeye Syndrome.

Can Satan claim a person’s soul but not their spirit?

We slow down and examine the questions beneath the question.

What does the Bible actually say about the soul and the spirit? Are they separable? Can one be claimed by Satan while the other remains to wander the earth?

Rather than speculation, this episode looks carefully at thebiblical language, the theological assumptions we often overlook, and why Scripture consistently points us toward the unity of the human person before God.

Listen in and think it through with me.

What does it really mean to “walk in victory”?

In this Ramblecast episode, I reflect on how we often misunderstand victory in the Christian life by projecting our own ideas of comfort, ease, and emotional relief onto it. Using the cross as the lens, I challenge the popular notion that victory always looks like a comeback, a breakthrough, or a sudden change in circumstances.

Jesus was never losing. Even in betrayal, suffering, silence, and death, He was walking in perfect obedience and unbroken trust in the Father. That wasn’t defeat—it was the plan.

This episode is an honest, unscripted musing on the victory of the cross, what Jesus actually endured, and how that reshapes the way we understand faithfulness, endurance, suffering, and perseverance today.

Victory isn’t always about feeling better or seeing things change.

Sometimes it’s simply not letting go of the Father while you keep walking forward by grace.

Raw. Reflective. Grounded in the cross.
Something to think about.

“Judge not” is one of the most quoted—and most misunderstood—verses in the Bible. In this verse-by-verse teaching through Matthew 7:1–6, we slow down and let Jesus say what He actually means.

This passage is not a ban on discernment, correction, or truth. Instead, Jesus exposes self-righteous, hypocritical judgment—the kind that forgets our own need for mercy while holding others to a standard we don’t meet ourselves.

As we walk through the broader context of the Sermon on the Mount, we see how this teaching flows directly from “Blessed are the merciful” and how Jesus uses vivid (and intentionally humorous) imagery to reveal the danger of spiritual pride. We also explore why mercy and correction are not opposites, why love sometimes requires hard truth, and why discernment must be guided by humility and the Spirit.

Finally, we wrestle with Jesus’ warning about pearls and pigs—why wisdom is required not just in what we say, but when and to whom we say it.

This teaching challenges us to remove the plank from our own eye, walk in gratitude for the mercy we’ve received, and help others with truth, gentleness, and love—without compromising the gospel or weaponizing it.

We take a closer look at a vivid and often misunderstood image in Isaiah 51:9: “Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?”

What exactly is this “dragon”? Is Isaiah talking about Satan, a mythological creature, or something else entirely?

Rather than jumping to assumptions, this episode walks carefully through the text in its biblical, historical, and literary context. We examine the titles used in the passage—the Arm of the Lord, Rahab, and the dragon—and trace how Scripture itself defines them. By comparing Isaiah with other Old Testament passages, including Ezekiel, we uncover how prophetic language, pagan symbolism, and real historical events intersect.

This episode emphasizes an important principle of biblical interpretation: letting Scripture interpret Scripture, and allowing context to guide meaning—while still acknowledging how Old Testament imagery can point forward in secondary ways without abandoning its original intent.

If you’ve ever wondered how to approach symbolic language in the Bible without forcing meanings onto the text, this episode will help you think more clearly and biblically.

How could Jacob spend his wedding night with the wrong woman and not realize it until morning?

In this Q&A episode of the Unshackled Life Podcast, we take a closer look at a puzzling moment in Genesis. Rather than forcing modern assumptions onto the story, this episode approaches the text on its own terms—considering cultural context, narrative purpose, and the larger flow of Scripture.

Genesis doesn’t dwell on the mechanics of the deception, and that omission is purposeful.

This episode was sparked by the remembrance of Jesus’ baptism on the liturgical calendar—but it quickly turned into a reflection on something deeper: calling, brokenness, and grace.

As I’ve been thinking about the baptism of Jesus, my focus hasn’t been on Jesus in the water, but on John standing there. Jesus later called John the greatest prophet—greater than Moses, greater than Elijah—yet when Jesus came to him, John’s response was immediate resistance. “I’m not worthy. You don’t need this. I’m the one who’s broken.”

And God’s response wasn’t to disqualify him—or tell him to fix himself first.

In this unscripted Ramblecast, we reflect on what it means that a broken man baptized the unbroken One who came to be broken for all of us. If you’ve ever felt the call of God and immediately thought, “I can’t do this. I’m not qualified,” this episode is for you.

Jesus didn’t come for the healed. He didn’t wait for us to get it together. He was broken on our behalf so that He could heal what’s broken in us—and use us to bring His grace into the lives of others.